[triple zero]

Helllllooooo.

I own a 2004 Mini Cooper S and am living in northern Canada. Lastnight we had our first snow fall, and after my drive home from a friends i was unable to open the driver door. i had to get out of the passenger side door and after trying to open the driver side from the outside it still wouldn't open. After a couple hours I came back to try the door again and the passenger side door was now locked and couldn't open. The door wasn't frozen, just the lock was somehow stuck due to the cold weather..maybe?
Anyone else have this problem?

 

[jason1wood]

try shoveling the snow out the way of the doors...haha
sorry couldn't resist.

 

[triple zero]

that wasn't even funny.

 

[timmy]

Hello,

I had this exact same problem on a cold winter morning here in the UK last year, I ended up using the passenger door to enter my car instead !!

Once I got moving and things heated up the driver side door worked fine again so I wouldn't worry too much about it in terms of it being a fault..guess the door just freezes up in extreme cold sometimes.

Hope this help's

 

[abs0lutely]

...not great if you live in Northern Canada though is it!!

Give your dealer a ring... surely there should be ways of ensuring the doors operate in cold temperatures!

 

[HarryHBMCC]

You could try warming it up in a garage (either get in through the passenger door or roll down the windows using the key held in open position and get in stock-car style). When this happened to me it was because I had snow at the bottom of the driver's door from getting in and out a lot and it had frozen the door shut. If you can't get it into a garage then a hair dryer or some hot water at the bottom of the door might help, or you could pour it on the roof and it should drain down the gutter and through the door.

If you don't think it is snow at the bottom of the door then you could try some spray lock de-icer lubricant. Put it in the keyhole and hopefully it'll spray itself around.

Harry

 

[shedend]

Similar (but possibly not exactly the same) problem for me tonight.
Drivers door handle wouldn't open the car. Tried to open it via the remote locking everything else opened okay - except drivers door The knob was up and even by pulling the interior handle it wouldn't open. About an hour latter it was okay. Then Half an hour it did it again. It was 5.5 degrees (it was 0.5 this am and no problems then), so can't be frozen - from what i could see the (sorry don't know the technical term ) the catch you pull in to open the door was stuck inside the handle Do people think this is a BC1 problem or is it just mechanical - ie the handle sticking, any ideas?? Can't keep climbing in via the passenger side

 

[Tonyt3]

I had this problem with an early Cooper - turned out there was a rubber seal missing in the door lock mechanism, which meant that two metal surfaces came in direct contact with each other. Moisture on these surfaces would then freeze, even in very mild frost conditions, so the parts were inseperable.

The key to this is that there was both moisture in the mechanism and cold air to freeze it - at times when it was really cold but there was no moisture they wouldn't stick together. Give your dealer a call - its in my opinion a fault he should understand and be able to rectify.

Hope this helps

 

[shedend]

Thanks Tony - am due for a service in 500 miles so may try to get it in sooner, as that dosent sound like anything i can do. Cheers Dave

 

[mattcoon]

I had the exact thing happen to mine one year ago (two days after deliver ). I felt rather embarrased as I rolled down the drivers windows in the bitter cold to open the door from the outside handle. This happen again a week later and the Service advisor suggested lubricating the cable. we'll see, as it hasn't gotten cold enough since they lub'ed it.

 

[thebigyin]

Helllllooooo.

I own a 2004 Mini Cooper S and am living in northern Canada. Lastnight we had our first snow fall, and after my drive home from a friends i was unable to open the driver door. i had to get out of the passenger side door and after trying to open the driver side from the outside it still wouldn't open. After a couple hours I came back to try the door again and the passenger side door was now locked and couldn't open. The door wasn't frozen, just the lock was somehow stuck due to the cold weather..maybe?
Anyone else have this problem?

The problem is more complicated than the lock freezing.
Before the door can open the car winds down the window about a quarter of an inch (5 or 6 mm for our Canadian and European friends).
If there is snow or ice formed around the bottom of the window OR the top of the window the drive mechanism does not have enough GRUNT to break the ica and allow the window to come down so even if your lock is unlocked and you operate the door mechanism the door will stioll not open because the ROOF is holding it in place !!!!! The only solution I have found for this is hot water poured along the roof gutter and the top of the window and if necessary along the bottom edge of the window. Try to pour it onto the bodywork to avoid the risk of thermal shock doing the window in.
THEN, your only problem is that the window can then refreeze in the UP position when you try to CLOSE the dor and you hear a wonderful crunch as the top of the window tries to crash its way through the roof gutter

I exoperienced this many times with my MINI Copper last winter and I am expecting a similar prolem with my new MCS Convertible although it will probably mean I will rip the side of the roof off with the window when it freezes onto the cloth !!!

 

[Wombat]

just keep your roof open and you should not have any problems; although it might be a little chilly, lol

 

[MiniMinor]

I had this problem too last winter, i just sprayed a bit of WD40 into the lock mechanism. No probs since..

 

[thebigyin]

just keep your roof open and you should not have any problems; although it might be a little chilly, lol

Then I would have to complain that the leatherette seats get scratched when I scrape the ice off them and I would need a speedo defroster - on second thoughts I already have that with the heated seats LOL

 

[HVY WGHT]

I've had this happen to me several times. I've gone out the window, the other door, even the hatch one time.

It's not the windows since those always work. I just can't get the door open. Sometimes the outside handle doesn't work, sometimes the inside. If it doesn't work, it feels like its broken but if it thaws out the handles work again. I don't really know what the problem is but need a good solution. The moisture along the bottom of the door may be part of it, but water also drains down over the latch mechanism...

Any advice on what actually works would b emush appreicated.

Staying warm and motoring...

 

[Iamamini]

I have the same problem.

2 cold days in a row I have not been able to get out of the car because the handle is stuck. When I got out on the passenger side and tried the outside handle it works fine, but the inside is stuck. On the passenger side all works, inside and outside handle. If this continues I have to take the car to the dealer and get it fixed, I can´t have an almost new car with this problem, it is crappy build quallity I think.

 

[s1500]

Strange...

I went to Wal Mart, then got the car wash done(trust me, it needed it). I went to the coffee shop for 30 minutes. Doors were fine.

Drove home(10 minutes). In my garage, the doors were frozen shut. I had to get out Dukes of Hazard-style. The windows are just fine.

Ugh. Yay for Minnesota weather.

 

[Socalcoopster]

So this is only happened in cold weather? I've actually had this happen to me twice, You pull on the door handle and the door wont open in any weather. I had the dealer look at it , and they blamed it on a faulty cable. The same thing is happening again. the only way I can open the door is if i use the central unlocking switch and then the door will open.

 

[BMW.MINI.RR]

I've had my 05 Cooper for about 2 weeks and today the passenger side door would not open from the inside. It was warm but rainy. I got out and tried it from the outside and it opened. This happened 2 separate times today. I hope it is an isolated incident. I could take it to the dealer but they're soo far away, and my service wont be for another year or so. So far this is the only flaw in this great car, and not that big a deal assuming it's fixable.

 

[JEFF10049]

Hello we have a 04 mini and same problem has happened lots of times.only in freezeing conditions. usally the passenger door will open today non would open from the inside or out my wife had to climb out the window at work... the windows were not frozen at all.
its just like the door is still locked... keyless unlock, switch in the car, or the key in the door lock have no effect on this problem. the dealer said they have never heard of it and blamed the cable but also admitted that it would open from the outside or if unlocked by the switch if the cable were loose. so it not the cable.
So ****ed off at no resutls from the dealer and the fact my wife had to climb out the window I took the door panel off took out the whole latch assy. pain in the ass that was and looked at it carfully for a long long time studying how each part worked finally convinced I found the culprit I thoughly cleand lubed and greased it in a attempt to keep water off of it.. Also seeing the amout of water on the latch mechanisim was scarey lots and I do meen lots of condensation inside the door. so it could deffently be freezing things.
I'll give a update and how to if this works.

Jeff